Outdoor seat.



No. 728,209 PATENTED MAY 19, 1903.

J. T. DAWSON & L. SUNDERLAND;

OUTDOOR SEAT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20, 1902'. I

N0 MODEL.

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dry seat.

NITED STATES Patented May 19, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

OUTDOOR SEAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 728,209, dated May 19, 1903.

Application filed June 20, 1902. Serial No. 112.474. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN THOMAS DAW- soN and LEWIS SUNDERLAND, subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residents of Shaw, Lancashire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Outdoor Seats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to seats as used out of doors, such as garden-seats, tram-car seats, pier-seats, and the like; and its object is to provide simple means wherebyin wet weather a dry seat may be obtained.

Upon the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical cross-section, and Fig. 2 a front view, of an outdoor seat having our invention applied thereto and showing the position of the seat proper Whennot in use either in wet or fine weather. Fig. 3 illustrates the position of the seat when in use. Fig. 4. illustrates our invention as applied to a seat having reversible back-rest and more especially useful for tram-cars.

According to our invention the seat proper, A, consists, by preference, of a flexible apron, of wooden lags, woven wire, or the like, and when in position for use (see Fig. 3) adapted to lie with its two edges in grooves B in the opposite faces of the two seat sides or frames G, the bottom sides of the grooves constituting ledges and serving to support the apron and the user. In the rear (or front),of the seat we provide a housing or inclosedpocket D, and when the seat-apron A is not required for use it is capable of sliding into such housing and of lying concealed from,view. (See Fig. 1.) At the entrance to such housing is a pivoted flap or lid F, and withthe seatapron in the housing such flap by its own weight falls and closes the entrance to the housing, and thus protects the apronfrom rain, so that in wet weather the user on drawing forward the apron may obtain a perfectly The endmost lag A of the apron always remains in the housing and is slightly heavier than the-others, so that on the user rising the apron may, unless otherwise held, automatically retire into the housing, and thus always be kept dry. In practice, however, we find it is desirable to provide means for only allowing the apron to retire when the user definitely leaves the seat, since he or she may rise and sit down again without thinking of the seat, and to this end we provide the flap F with claws G, which as the apron is drawn out slip over the lags, but immediately the apron is fully drawn out engage one, A of the lags and for the time being prevent the return of the apron. We also provide a board or platform H, hinged to the floor at one end, supported :on a spring I near the other end, and carrying a leve'r J with lateral projection K, which under the force of a spring L presses against'the side of the housing or into a slot M. 1

When the user requires'to use the seat he stands on the boardI-I, thus depressing the same to the point shown inFig. 5. He then takes hold of the apron-tabN and pulls forward the apron A to .the position shown in Fig. 3, where it is retained bythe claws G on the user releasing the tab, the lags readily slipping past the nose of the projection K as they move up and the claws taking into the gaps A) on the apron tending to move back. Upon the user rising, but not leaving the board, the apron does not retire into its housing; but when the user steps off the board the upward movement thereof causes the lever projection K to suddenly engage and lift the end lag A the effect of which is to disengage the other lag, A from the claws G or the claws from the gaps A and allow the apron to drop back into the housing, the projection K by coming against the top edge of the slot M being moved out of the way after lifting the end lag, and therefore offering no obstruction to the apron. With the entire apron in the housing save the tab N the flap F then closes the entrance thereto.

In Fig. at we show our invention as applied to a tram-car seat, two aprons being used and .two housings, also two footboards and levers,

the,'back-rest 0 being reversible. Ofv course one apron and housing may serve for both sides of the seat or both directions of travel, and where desired the board 11 and lever J, also the claws G, may be dispensed with, the apron retiring unless held by hand each time the user rises. The frames of the seats may be made to any suitable design and may have two or more aprons working side by side with back-rest and intermediate supports to suit.

To further protect the apron from rain, the

flap may have a part which overhangs the rear of the housing, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

What we claim is- 1. An outdoor seat comprising a loose flexible seat in one length, a pair of seat sides, each having a ledge on which the seat may rest, a housing into which the seat is received, a lid at the entrance of the housing, projections on the said lid for preventing the retirepnent of the seat when drawn out, and means for disengaging the-said projections, as set forth.

2. An outdoor seat comprising a pair of loose flexible seats, each in one length, a pair of seat sides, each having a ledge on which either of the flexible seats may rest, and a pair of housings into each of which one of the seats is received, means for closing the entrance of each housing, means for retaining each seat in its drawn-out position, and means for automatically releasing the same, as set forth.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN THOMAS DAWSON. LEWIS SUNDERLAND. Witnesses:

JOHN CAMP, WILLIAM EASTWOOD. 

